I’m Jeff Holleran, the Senior Director for Enterprise Product Management here at RIM. As an enterprise IT manager, you might be asking yourself: as familiar products like BlackBerry® Enterprise Server, ActiveSync, and BlackBerry® Mobile Fusion evolve with handheld technology, what is the best solution to manage and deploy multiple devices across my organization? In a recent blog post, I explained how the incorporation of ActiveSync into RIM® management products does not compromise security. Today, we’re offering insight into the future of managing your organizations’ mobile deployment with a single platform from RIM. I’m happy to introduce you to BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 (BES 10).

What is BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10?

BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 represents a consolidation of our enterprise mobility management (EMM) product portfolio, which includes our mobile device management (MDM), security, infrastructure, and app management products. It will prepare your organization for the future of mobile diversity, as well as integrate with your existing BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) deployment. From a single unified web-based console, BES 10 will manage the following devices:

BlackBerry 7 OS and prior smartphones

BlackBerry 10 devices

BlackBerry PlayBook tablets

iOS and Android™ smartphones and tablets

BES 10 will be the ultimate management solution for all BlackBerry platform devices, as well as iOS and Android devices. BES 10 will launch with the first BlackBerry 10 devices in Q1 of calendar year 2013.

RIM remains committed to our enterprise customers by providing advanced, innovative, and flexible options for a straight-forward migration to BlackBerry 10 smartphones, as well as cross-platform management of your mobile device deployment.

What will the components and requirements be for BES 10?

BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 will be a complete solution that includes several components to manage multiple smartphones and tablets. Management occurs through a single, unified web-based administration console that will provide one place to manage all of the devices listed above.

In addition to the unified management console, the components of BES 10 will initially include current products already in market:

BlackBerry® Device Service (BDS) – supporting BlackBerry PlayBook tablets and BlackBerry 10 smartphones when they launch in Q1 2013 through the use of Microsoft ActiveSync for email and PIM synchronization

During 2013 we will consolidate the multiple names that we have in our portfolio today into one single product name. The terms “BlackBerry Mobile Fusion”, “BlackBerry Device Service” and “Universal Device Service” will be phased out in favor of BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10.

What about servers? Will multiple physical deployments be required?

With the initial launch of BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, BES 5+ will require its own server, while BlackBerry Device Service and Universal Device Service can reside on separate servers or be combined on the same physical or virtual server. Should you opt to work with virtual servers, we fully support this type of deployment. Today, BlackBerry Mobile Fusion operates in a similar fashion, with BES 5+ requiring one server, and both BDS and UDS able to be deployed on a single server or on separate servers.

The future of BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10

The roadmap for BES 10 includes an upgrade currently scheduled for BlackBerry World in May 2013. This upgrade will consolidate BDS and UDS into a single component, and will allow for BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 and existing BlackBerry Enterprise Servers (BES 5.0.3+) to run on the same physical server; both seamlessly managed using a single fully featured management console. Additionally, with BES 10 there will no longer be a requirement to have the server connected to the same Local Area Network as the mail server. These developments will centralize mobility management into a single point and provide flexibility, convenience, and added functionality.

We are excited to share more about BES 10 through this autumn. Stay tuned for further details on pricing, the path forward from a current BES 5 deployment, and details on IT policies and management configurations. BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 will launch with the first BlackBerry 10 devices in early 2013.

Frequently Asked Questions about BES 10

Is this a net new service or a name change?

BES 10 represents both an evolution and consolidation of RIM’s enterprise mobility management (EMM) offer to make things simple, flexible, and scalable for your organization. New functionality for managing BlackBerry 10 devices will be included, and existing functionality (currently in BlackBerry Mobile Fusion) will be incorporated into a single product offering.

The “BES 10″ name builds on our heritage as the leading provider of enterprise mobility management solutions. We are working to consolidate our product offerings, including our operating systems, smartphones, tablets, software, cloud services, and enterprise mobility management (EMM) solutions.

If the platform is changing to BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, should I install BlackBerry Mobile Fusion today?

Yes. BlackBerry Mobile Fusion will allow you to manage BlackBerry PlayBook tablets as well as iOS and Android devices today; it will also prepare you for a simple and straightforward upgrade to BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 once it’s available in early 2013, when it launches together with the first of our new BlackBerry 10 smartphones.

I have an existing BlackBerry Enterprise Server. Why should I add BES 10 to my infrastructure?

BES 10 is designed to integrate with your existing BlackBerry Enterprise Server deployment, allowing you to seamlessly manage not only your existing BlackBerry smartphones, but also upcoming BlackBerry 10 devices and BlackBerry PlayBook tablets, as well as iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. It will work with what you have, and set you up for success in the future.

How does RIM plan to support BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) moving forward?

We will continue to provide support for the many existing BES deployments, as well as provide updates and patches to make sure that you’re running the most secure mobile device management solution available. We’re committed to protecting your investment, while anticipating the challenges that your business will face moving forward when it comes to enterprise mobility. Updates for current BES deployments are planned throughout this Fall: The 5.0.4 update for BlackBerry Enterprise Server and BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express running Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Domino is scheduled for September 2012, with support for servers running Novell GroupWise planned to become available later in the Fall of 2012.

About Jeff Holleran

As Senior Director, Enterprise Product Management, at BlackBerry, Jeff Holleran is responsible for leading the team that sets the product strategy and roadmap for BlackBerry’s enterprise software offerings. Jeff has also held leadership roles in technical sales and solutions development since joining BlackBerry in November, 2001.
Prior to joining BlackBerry, Jeff held senior IT positions in several large enterprise companies.
Jeff holds a Computer Engineering degree from Florida Institute of Technology.

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